MIGRATION IN WORLD HISTORY

From the spread of the earliest hominids onwards, migration has been a major factor in human development. This fascinating study traces the connections among regions brought about by the movements of people, diseases, crops, technology and ideas. Drawing on examples from a wide range of geographical regions and thematic areas, Manning presents a graceful and dramatic narrative, including: · earliest human migrations, including the earliest hominids, their development and spread, and the controversy surrounding the rise of homo sapiens · the first domestication of major plants and animals · the rise and spread of major language groups such as Indo-European, Afro-Asiatic, Niger-Congo, Austronesian/Austroasiatic, Sino-Tibetan, Ural-Altaic, and Amerindian · examination of civilizations, farmers and pastoralists from 3000 BCE to 500 CE, highlighting such groups as Greeks, Phoenicians, Xiongnu, Huns and Scythians · trade patterns including the early Silk Road andmaritime trade in the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean · use of horses and boats, with focus on migratory groups such as Germans, Vikings, Turks, Arabs, Mongols, Arawaks and Caribs, Nilotes, Polynesians and Bantu · the increasing impact of maritime and overland migrations on areas of life such as religion and family between 1400-1700 · the effect of migration on empire and industry between 1700-1900 the resurgence of migration in the later twentieth century, including movement to cities, refugees and diasporas